By Romy Stephens
A Mount Evelyn man has had an “absolutely horrendous” fortnight after a tree fell on his home and another dangerous tree near his property was removed.
During the severe storm event in the Yarra Ranges on 27 August, a neighbour’s tree toppled onto Allan and Colleen Grundy’s home, destroying their kitchen and new carport.
It was the second time a large tree had fallen on Mr Grundy’s house in four years.
One week later, Yarra Ranges Council removed a tree on the couple’s front nature strip, after Mr Grundy noticed the ground surrounding it was cracking during high winds.
“I’m talking 45-50 metres high, a massive tree,” Mr Grundy said.
“It would have totally demolished my house and I’m not exaggerating.
“I looked at the tree and, sure enough, the ground was cracking, it would have come down that night.”
Mr Grundy called the council about the tree for the eighth time on 3 September, after having complained about it seven times previously.
Mr Grundy said during that eighth phone call he had to be forceful, to the point where crews were finally sent to cut the tree down.
“I love the trees and I hate seeing them come down, but you have to use logic and reason when they are a threat to your lives and premises,” he said.
“It’s the healthy trees that do come down because they catch the wind. A dead tree without foliage does come down eventually, but usually not just by wind.
“I feel very very ill to put it mildly, I’m shaken up. I don’t want sympathy but I have a chronic heart condition, I don’t need all of this stuff.
“It’s just been absolutely horrendous.”
Yarra Ranges Council’s trees team coordinator, Paul Mechelen, said a large number of tree-related requests had been received since the severe storm event in late August.
He said requests had come predominantly from the southern Dandenongs and Mount Evelyn.
“Council’s Tree Policy states that trees are retained where possible. Healthy trees are usually only removed if they are part of an approved development or are causing other problems,” Mr Mechelen said.
“Council fully understands that last week’s storm and the continuing strong winds are causing a lot of anxiety for the community. If residents have concerns about trees, they should contact us. We will inspect them promptly.”
Mr Mechelen said when trees were inspected, a qualified arborist compiled a full report.
“The arborist assesses the health and structure of the tree. The arborist also considers the area of risk, which is where the tree or branches would hit if they failed,” he said.
“The combination of the health and structure assessment with the risk assessment value enables the arborist to make a recommendation for works if required.”
Mr Grundy has had plenty of bad luck with trees in recent years.
In 2016, a tree that fell onto his home cost just over $240,000 in damages and took two years to rectify.
Mr Grundy had recently rebuilt his carport, which was destroyed by the tree that fell during last month’s storm.
He said he likely wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for the carport.
“I was out on the back veranda, right near where the tree came down. If the carport wasn’t there I probably would have been crushed,” Mr Grundy said.
“The power had already failed, if it hadn’t my wife would have been in the kitchen preparing dinner when the kitchen roof collapsed.
“We’re lucky. We’ve been through a hell of an ordeal but we’re also lucky that we got out of it, physically scott-free.
“We live in fear to be quite honest…At present we can’t live in the house. Luckily we have a bungalow type cottage in the house. It will be quite some time before we can get back into the house.”
The Mount Evelyn resident will now turn his attention to assessing other neighbouring trees that he said also posed a risk to his property.
But he said he mainly wanted to share his story to help Yarra Ranges Council and other relevant authorities better understand the risks trees posed.
“The shire, all responsible authorities have to realise the impact that these events have on people’s lives,” Mr Grundy said.
“Our weather patterns are getting worse and worse. We all know that extreme wind, extreme heat extreme, cold extremes, rain and weather patterns are rapidly becoming totally different.
“We’ve all got to realise that, not just responsible authorities but all of us.”
